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Dovecotes and Windmills

The Dovecotes are monuments of the unique, local sense of creativity. The were built around the 18th and the 19th century, they are made of stone and are usually consisted of two floors.

The lower floor was used as a storage facility and the upper floor was the residence of pigeons. The locals used the birds feces as organic compost, and they also ate the birds' meat, with meat in general being scarce on the island.

The dovecotes are located on elevated terrain, in specific angle concerning the wind, in order to make it easier for the birds to land and take off. The complex and sophisticated patterns on the front side of the dovecotes were supposed to attract the birds.

The island of Tinos is the dominant island concerning the number of dovecotes, in the whole of the Cycladic Islands. We cannot be sure for the exact amount of the dovecotes that exist on the island, but they are more than 600.

The Windmills

The windmills are an integral part of Tinos.

Tinos, also refered to as 'The Island of Wind', is in favor of their maintenance. More than 80 windmills have provided for the people over the years, by adding to the local agriculture (graining wheat and other cereal). Windmills have been a great aid during the Second World War, because it helped the locals to make it through the rough years of hunger and food scarcity by providing them with small amounts of flour. You can still find them scattered on various locations on the island.